


Frozen Temper

by Kivea



Category: South Park
Genre: Antarctica, Comedy, Enemies to Lovers, How Do I Tag, M/M, Penguins, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29179371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivea/pseuds/Kivea
Summary: It was the dream research study. Spending a whole three months in Antarctica studying the environment and the wildlife, a Summer position and a chance to meet someone who was working at one of the companies he wanted to work for.He was so excited to meet some penguins, and then thisjackasscame along to steal all the attention.
Relationships: Kyle Broflovski/Craig Tucker, Stan Marsh/Kenny McCormick
Comments: 21
Kudos: 41





	Frozen Temper

It was the dream research study. Spending several months in the base, a seasonal position that he had worked hard to get. It had been his professor who had put him forward for it, suggesting that it might be beneficial to have under his belt for when he applied for permanent research positions once he finished his post-grad. 

He knew he wouldn’t be the only person there. He had been told the person he would be sharing a space with wasn’t on a post-grad, and instead worked for one of the companies who had people stationed out there all year round. His professor had said it would be good networking. That getting to know someone who was already cemented in one of the companies he would be looking at applying to would be helpful. 

The journey down was long enough. He slept half the way, plane after plane. As he was travelling alone, rather than in a large group, they got him as far south as they could before taking him via helicopter, forgoing the boat trip for one person. He could hardly complain, once he was in the thing, the realization that he was _nearly_ there fully settling in. 

The pod was the first thing that was pointed out to him by the pilot, positioned close to the coast for travel convenience. A view of where he would be staying for the next few months. The second was part of what his research position would be including. 

A small horde of penguins came into view, catching Kyle’s attention. He leant forward to stare down at them, smile spreading across his face as they turned to look up at the helicopter that passed overhead. He felt a little bit like a kid with his face pressed against a window, resisting every urge not to wave down as if they would know. 

_Watch closely_ , the pilot had advised. _It’s my favorite part._

He did, keeping a close eye as they passed over the top of the horde that was still staring at them. He looked at the front row, seeing them begin to bend backwards to keep the helicopter in view, rather than turning round, and then the pilot began to laugh. 

When the first row fell, it was like a domino effect. It was hard not to laugh a little bit, watching the penguins begin to topple over, part of him cooing out in sympathy and part of him sniggering at the show. 

He _couldn’t believe_ he was _actually_ _here._

When he landed at the base, he was blown away by the place now he was up close. He had done so much preparation, research to make sure he packed just right, brought everything he’d need, mentally ready for what the cold four month Summer season position would entail. 

The base was very much like a series of pods. He headed for the one he had been advised would be his ‘home’ for the coming weeks, and that it housed everything they needed living-wise. A modest bedroom for two, a shower cubical, a washroom and kitchen. A living space and a recreation area. 

His new housemate was already there. He could tell from the shoes at the door and the large puffy coat hanging up. He was sure to remove his own shoes and coat before he stepped further into the house, not wanting to start off on a bad foot. He didn’t want to seem rude to the guy already by dragging wet shoes through the house. 

“Hello?” he called out once he’d shed his outer layer, moving further into the room with his bag. “Is anyone home?” 

He waited a few moments for a response, but was met with silence. 

He started to wander through the pod, opening the doors as he passed. The washroom housed two sinks and a toilet, with the shower cubicle next to it, looking like something from a shared dorm, with a seating area and a half wall separating it from four shower heads. 

The ‘recreation area’ was more of a small onsite gym. The next room down was one of the bedrooms, and Kyle left his bag at the door as he took a few steps into the room. 

It was definitely only a seasonal accommodation, given how void of personal belongings it was. Though there were more signs of the mystery housemate here, in the form of a bag haphazardly tucked under one of the two single beds. He reached the wall to a large window, pulling back the curtains to look out at the view he had from his new bedroom. 

When he got a proper look at the half of the room closest to the window, with the already claimed bed, he found a collection of books stacked across a desk. A variety of things from a cheesy Harlequin romance, to non-fiction physics books. 

He went to reach out for one of the books, trying to wrap his head round who would have such a varied taste in literature. 

“Can I help you?” 

He jumped out of his skin at the voice, spinning round with an excuse poised on the tip of his tongue which died at the sight of the man hovering in the doorway, staring him down. 

There was a tall man, with lightly tanned skin and dark hair, brows pulled together looking entirely unimpressed with Kyle snooping about the room. He wore dark clothes, navy combat pants and a black sweater, sleeves pushed up to reveal part of a sleeve tattoo on one arm with a hand planted on his hip, the other clutching a rag. 

“Uhh…” 

The man raised a brow. “’Uh’?” 

“I was just-!” Kyle gestured to the window behind him. “The view, from the window, and – are you, Craig?” 

“I am,” steely eyes scanned Kyle from head to toe. “And you’re Kyle.” 

“I am! I just arrived, I called out, but you mustn’t have heard me?” 

The man took a hand off his hip in order to rub the back of his neck, some of the tension bleeding out of his posture. “Sorry, I’ve had my headphones on. Guess I lost track of time.” 

“It’s no problem. Sorry I was…” 

_What? Snooping around his_ _shit_ _?_

Craig didn’t seem too bothered by it anymore, lopsided smile on his face as he gave a low chuckle at Kyle’s expense, and his too-red face. “Don’t worry about it. This is your room too. The other one is kind of out of commission, and full of storage boxes.” 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“Sure, yeah,” the man shifted his weight, cocking his hips with a frown on his face. “You can get all set up and shit. I’m not – you're not a messy person, are you?” 

“I don’t think so?” 

“Right.” 

Kyle tried not to feel too scrutinized under the man’s gaze. 

“Do you want a tour or something?” 

“That’d be nice, actually. It’s my first...field exercise in a place like this.” 

“I’ve been before.” 

Silence descended across the room again. 

“Great,” Craig knocked a fist against the door. “I’ll let you get settled, then just...come find me for that tour?” 

“I can do it now, I’ll just – I'll sort my bag out later.” 

“If you’re sure?” 

Craig wasn’t what he expected. He didn’t know exactly what he’d expected, but it hadn’t been this. He struggled to really concentrate on the words out of the man’s mouth as he was shown around the place, not that Craig seemed to be a man of many words. Conversation was hard to have when he was too busy being nervous, and his conversation partner didn’t speak more than four word sentences, such as, ‘this is the kitchen’. 

He had prepared for a lot of things, but he hadn’t prepared for his colleague to be so… 

_Christ._

He tried to put any inappropriate thoughts to one side, deciding he’d address his inner turmoil about having an attractive, young colleague instead of an older, not-his-type kinda guy at a later date. Instead, he attempted to bridge some kind of _friendship_ between them, especially if they were to be roommates for the next few months. 

“What’s the…rag for?” 

“Oh, well, the place usually needs a bit of cleaning when we first arrive,” Craig explained. “After not being used for a while. It gets maintained by some of the other stations close by, but I figured I’d get started getting it ready.” 

“You like to keep things clean, huh?” Kyle asked with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. 

“Yup.” 

This was...not going to be the easiest. 

\--

There was an easiness to the way that Craig conducted himself. Once Kyle had got passed the initial awkwardness of attempting to make conversation, he saw how settled Craig became in the environment. When he got the man talking about work, Craig was happy to speak. 

They set out for their first day’s work, and Kyle found himself too captivated by the scenery to worry about the man he was working with. Any doubts he had about whether or not he would be able to fully enjoy the place were dashed once he was out walking around in the vast expanse of where their seasonal pod was set up, bundled up in a fluffy hat and thick coat. 

The first surveys focused on the environment, further away from the coast than he might’ve liked. He didn’t see any wildlife for some time, but when he did... 

It took everything in him not to start jumping with excitement. 

They were walking when it happened. What could only be described as a small army of penguins, skittering across in front of where Craig and Kyle were. When he turned to look at Craig, he found the steely eyes already on him. 

“C’mon,” Craig gestured for Kyle to follow. 

Kyle followed Craig towards the edge of the group, seeing a few curious glances shot in their direction. Craig instructed Kyle to crouch down low, outstretch his arm and wait for one to approach. 

“You’re too nervous,” Craig advised. “Here, like this.” 

Kyle watched on in amazement as Craig stretched a hand out, leaning forward and getting down low, and... 

One of them _tapped_ him. 

It was just a tap. A tap, before the penguin turned and waddled back over to his friends. 

Kyle swallowed a lump in his throat as he spoke. “You’re really good with them, huh?” 

Craig looked up with a lopsided smile that Kyle might’ve said was attractive, yesterday. “I guess. I like to think they remember me.” 

But now? 

“Maybe if you come back again they’ll get used to you, too.” 

_Now it just pissed him off._

His mood only dropped from there. 

Craig was competent. He was competent, and intelligent, and honestly? Kyle felt a little bit like a third wheel, to his colleague and the birds they were documenting. 

He struggled to keep up with the more experienced man. 

Everything he did was effortless. He was constantly advising Kyle, demonstrating how much _better_ he was. More experienced. It put Kyle on edge when Craig would turn to him, expecting an answer and seeming to be surprised if Kyle couldn’t give it. His nerves were rising and it was making his brain stumble. 

Sometimes, it even seemed like Craig was _trying_ to make him feel inferior. 

“I was hoping to call my friends, when we get back,” Kyle requested. “If you don’t mind...?” 

“Sure, dude. I'll copy up the notes for today while you do it.” 

Another ping of annoyance, but he grit his teeth and refused to let it show on his face. He murmured a thank you and left it at that. 

Like he wasn’t capable of copying up his own notes. 

\--

Kyle had arranged a time to call his best friend before he even left for his research trip. He had promised to call, and they had sat for some time to work out the best time for Stan, over Kyle, who would be in perpetual daylight for the coming months. Stan had put an extra clock on his phone to remind himself of what vague hours Kyle was working on. 

He sat down at the desk and opened up discord, smile on his face as he saw Stan already online and a new message that he’d sent five minutes prior confirming he was ready to call. 

“Hey,” Kyle greeted once Stan answered with a wide grin. “I made it.” 

_“You made it!”_ Stan exclaimed with a wide grin. _“You’re there!”_

“I’m here!” 

_“Dude, how’s it been? Have you seen any penguins? Did you get to pet one? Can you bring_ _me_ _one home?”_

_“I know you’re like, having your private best friend conversation,”_ came a voice just off screen that Kyle recognized as Kenny. _“But can I interrupt just to ask Kyle not to bring you home a live penguin, thanks?”_

_“Ignore him, he’d love having a penguin, I’m sure.”_

Kyle laughed at his friends, their banter making him feel that little bit closer to home. “I’m with Kenny, dude. Unchecked, you’d have like, a zoo if you could.” 

The conversation was welcome. Being able to talk about the pod he was living in was fine. Talking about the number of penguins he’d seen was nice. But there was only so long he could keep a smile on his face. Only so far that he could keep talking about his time there while avoiding talking about the negative side, too. 

He could tell that Stan knew something was missing. It was in the way his questions tried to probe the information out of Kyle, and the way that his brows were creased together like something was wrong. 

Craig was going to come up eventually. And when he did, it was like the floodgates opened. 

Kyle talked about how Craig had been so naturally... _good_ at the job. Intelligent Craig, that made everything look effortless. Flawless Craig, who... 

“Maybe I’m just...the wrong choice?” Kyle muttered as he stared blankly at his screen. “I have no experience in this, outside of a classroom. Yeah, I got the position, but it could’ve...” 

Could’ve gone to someone else. 

“He’s just better, and he likes to show off.” 

_“So,_ _you what? Want to leave just cause of this guy?”_

“I know it sounds stupid but basically!” he huffed out. “I’ve worked so hard to be here and he’s just so naturally…flawless.” 

_“Tell him he just needs to_ _-!”_

“Whatever Kenny is about to say, I don’t wanna hear it,” Kyle decided with a scowl. “His opinion is wrong and I hate it.” 

Stan chuckled and shrugged. _“Sorry, dude. Maybe you should hear him out_ _,_ _though?”_

“Why am I even talking to you about this,” Kyle muttered mostly to himself. “I should’ve rang Wendy.” 

_“They would’ve said the same thing.”_

Kyle groaned as he slumped down in his chair. “You guys just don’t get it. I just feel…” 

_“Like an imposter?”_

He grit his teeth and refused to meet his best friend’s gaze through the camera. 

_“I know you, Kyle, and I know you thought that before you left. But they wouldn’t have picked you if you weren’t the best, and it didn’t stop you applying for it._ _Don’t let this stop you from enjoying yourself, dude.”_

Kenny’s face finally filled the camera and the movement caught Kyle’s attention. He looked up to see his two best friends staring back at him, a warm smile on Kenny’s face, and concern written across Stan’s. Kyle knew how the man preferred it when they were there in person for him to comfort, but…this would have to do. 

“You’re right,” Kyle pushed the negativity to the side. “Just because he knows what he’s doing doesn’t mean I can’t learn. And then do it _better._ ” 

Their conversation flowed smoother from there. He spoke more about the environment he was in and less about his asshole roommate. He got Stan and Kenny to keep him up to date with the local drama of his home, talk about what they had done while he had been gone. It sounded like Kenny had taken temporary residence in their flat while Kyle was gone. 

It was nice, and when the call ended, he stared as the screen until it went black. 

\--

He forced himself to keep Stan’s words at the forefront of his mind. Stan knew him like no one else did. He was right when he said that Kyle had been picked, and that had to mean something. 

He didn’t try to engage Craig in too much small talk. He let the other man lead the research, deciding that just because he didn’t like the guy didn’t mean he couldn’t still learn from him. If Craig had been here last year, that meant he had more experience, and that was something that Kyle could learn from. That was why his professor had encouraged him to go for this position; so that he could learn and network. 

They were continuing like normal, with a little more distance than last time. He had his equipment set up and he was documenting notes, Craig some feet away doing his own thing when it happened. 

A lone penguin heading in his direction. 

He held his breath. He couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing as the bird started to make tracks in his direction; the movements were timid, nervous, and Kyle wasn’t sure what he could do to encourage the penguin. Should he reach out with an open palm, like trying to coax a cat? Or should he kneel down and open his arms like when he greeted Stan’s dog? 

Before he could get his hand half way out, there was a loud cry from one of the other penguins, and the one approaching him was spooked. Enough to make him turn and flee in the opposite direction towards the water to drive into. 

Kyle slumped. 

The sound of laughter drew his attention over to where Craig sat. He felt heat rise in his cheeks as he saw his colleague trying to stifle laughter behind his hand, pale eyes lit up in amusement as he watched Kyle. 

Kyle, who gave a huff before standing up and marching back to his equipment. 

“Dude, c’mon, it was funny!” 

He ignored the other man. 

“You’ll get there eventually!” 

“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Kyle spat out as he gathered his things. “I’m going to monitor – I don’t know, something that isn’t here.” 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll stop laughing!” 

Kyle shot a glare over his shoulder. “Yeah, because you’re doing such a good job of it so far.” 

Craig didn’t try to keep him there beyond the empty promise. Kyle stormed off with little fanfare as Craig continued to work. At least it gave him some time to himself to cool down, and once he was stuck into his work without someone else close by to compare himself to, it was easy to forget about the embarrassment. 

\--

A routine was beginning to form in Kyle’s day to day. After he finished compiling his research notes for the day to send off, he would search the shared room for a book, or his laptop to plug into the TV, and spend the rest of his evening in the living area lounging about. 

After the Incident with Craig that day, he hadn’t seen the dark haired man. By the time he finished his work, without someone to stop him tunnel visioning until it was getting too dark to keep working, Craig had long since packed up. When Kyle returned to the pod he heard the man in the gym, with low music echoing through the walls. 

Once he finished his reporting the music had stopped. He continued his routine, heading for the shared bedroom to fetch his laptop with more purposeful steps as he looked out for the man. 

The door was open an inch, and he nudged it lightly and peered in with narrowed eyes to check for his roommate, who he didn’t want to see yet. 

His breath caught in his throat at what he saw. The other man was there, back to Kyle, with hands at the hem of his shirt. Kyle watched on as the shirt rose up, revealing tanned skin inch by inch, muscles on his back rippling. He knew that the man was fit, because they went through the same preparation to come and stay out here for a few months, and he was in the gym near constantly, but _seeing it_ was different. 

Seeing it made his throat dry and his mouth water. Seeing it had his eyes blowing wide and following the shape of the attractive back shamelessly as the man discarded his t-shirt on the floor before taking hold of his belt and beginning to unbuckle it. 

The noise of the buckle knocked some sense back into Kyle’s brain. 

He stopped staring at the Broad shoulders and pressed his back against the wall next to the room, eyes wide as he stared out at the living area. 

He needed to move. He was going to look like a right _creep_ if Craig left the room and he was standing here with pink cheeks. 

So, he fled to the washroom. He took the chance to splash his face with water and attempt to calm down. He didn’t leave the room until he heard the shower running. 

For the sake of normalcy, he returned to his room and continue his routine, getting his laptop and hooking it up to the TV, hoping the sound of mindless drivel would drown out the shower running in one of the next rooms over. 

It did a good job at taking his mind off the other man. The sound drowned out everything. The sound of the shower in the background. 

It also drowned out the sound of the door opening, and someone walking in his direction. 

“What you watching?” 

Kyle jumped half a foot in the air, relaxed posture instantly rigid and upright, spinning round to look at the man who was a few feet behind the couch. His eyes snapped from the face of the man down to the still naked shoulders. He was wearing his towel. He’d undressed in their bedroom, taken only his towel, and was now _parading round their shared space half naked._

“Jesus, dude!” Kyle exclaimed as heat erupted across his cheeks. “Your – how are you not cold?” 

Craig shrugged. “I ran the shower pretty hot.” 

“Right,” Kyle cleared his throat and tried to relax, though he couldn’t stop his eyes roaming over Craig’s chest, all the way down to the fluffy towel round his waist. He tried to think of something to say, but all his brain was able to produce was _pretty hot, pretty hot, pretty hot._

The thick, unflattering winter clothes they wore during field work hid a multitude of things. 

“Kyle?” 

His eyes snapped up and his jaw snapped closed. “Hmm?” 

There was a tinge of pink in Craig’s cheeks that Kyle swore wasn’t there before. “Are you alright?” 

“Fine! I just-!” he decided to proceed with this embarrassment the way he did most of their interactions: get annoyed. “-Do you always wander round shared spaces like…that?” 

“I didn’t think it was a big deal. It’s just us. That’s not important-!” 

_How is it not important?!_

“-I wanted to know if you wanted to eat together.” 

Kyle stopped. “Uh, what?” 

“Well,” Craig shuffled his weight. “I was gonna make dinner, and I figured, we could both eat, if you want?” 

“Are you gonna make me dinner?” 

Craig hesitated before answering, looking a little like a deer in headlights. “I can, if you want?” 

“It can be your apology for laughing at me earlier.” 

“I wasn’t laughing _at_ you.” 

“You sure weren’t laughing with me, seeing as you were the only one laughing.” 

“Fucking-!” Craig huffed as he glared off towards the kitchen. “Yeah, fine, it’s my apology for laughing, if that’ll get you off my ass about it.” 

Kyle smirked up at the man. “It’s a start.” 

“I’ll start on it in a second.” 

Kyle couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man as he turned and headed back towards their room. Not that he really tried to stop himself looking. Trust _Craig_ to be so confident in himself that he just wandered round like Kyle wasn’t even there. 

Once the door was shut, he forced his attention onto the TV once again. 

He successfully managed to keep his attention on it too, as Craig left their room and headed for the kitchen, behind the wall the TV was in front of. He barely gave the other man a second thought until there was a crash that just couldn’t be ignored. 

He froze, staring passed the TV and waiting for a prompt. 

It was the sound of swearing that followed the crash that had him springing from his seat to head to the kitchen, poking his head round the door to take in the scene before him. 

Craig was flapping. The almost cocky, confident demeanor was broken. He had pans littering the floors that he was scrambling to collect, a string of curses leaving his lips as he reached up to attempt to turn off the stove, pan sizzling away. 

“I’m fine!” Craig bit out before Kyle could even speak. “It’s fine!” 

“Are you sure?” Kyle stepped into the room fully and crept towards the stove to see what was sizzling away. “It doesn’t sound fine.” 

Craig stood up and blocked his view of the pan. The scowl on his face knocked Kyle off guard at first, but it didn’t stop his curiosity. Didn’t stop him noticing the way Craig’s mouth twitched like he was biting his lip, or how his hand bounced the pan he’d picked up from the floor with a nervous energy. 

Kyle smirked at the man. “You can’t cook.” 

Craig flushed and glared at him. “I can cook fine, I’m just…having an off day.” 

“An off day?” Kyle repeated with a laugh. “I don’t mind doing the cooking.” 

“It’s hardly an apology if you cook it.” 

“Do you want me to teach you?” 

He didn’t know what possessed him to offer. 

Craig shrugged, lips twitching up at the corners. “Sure.” 

It was strange. A little uncomfortable. Craig watched him with piercing eyes that he was so aware of, and he felt like he was always one step away from making a fool of himself. But... 

Craig seemed to genuinely take his instructions. They worked together in this closed space, but doing something that Kyle felt like he was capable of doing helped keep his temper down. Made him feel a little less awkward. A little less incompetent. 

“There we go,” Kyle announced as Craig finished portioning the two plates. “You can cook!” 

“With a lot of help.” 

Kyle laughed. “I guess you can’t be perfect every time.” 

They headed back to the living room, and sat on opposite ends of the three-person sofa. Craig offered for Kyle to just keep playing what he was watching, that he would pick it up as they went. 

There was no deep conversation, but it was a little less strained than it had been. 

\--

Their friendship was…rocky, from there. He wouldn’t say they got on, but they had some kind of truce. Their common ground was work, and it was the extent of their social interaction. They spoke only superficial small talk when they were in the pod, and Kyle occasionally suggested Craig joined him for a film or series during a nighttime. Craig would agree, but they didn’t really need to _talk_ while they watched things. 

It was leaving him feeling lonely. 

When he managed to get hold of Stan long enough for another call he wasn’t sure if he’d manage to make his vocal cords do what he needed them to. Seeing the screen fill up with the face of the blue eyed boy had him relaxing into the chair, smile on his face as he let out a sigh of relief. 

“Boy, I’m glad to see you.” 

Stan laughed through the speakers. _“That bad, huh?”_

“You have no idea.” 

_“Is that Kyle?”_

The sound of Kenny’s voice had never been so welcoming. “Has Kenny just, moved in? You know I’ll be back in that flat eventually, right?” 

_“Yeah, but while you’re not here, we’re taking advantage,”_ Stan explained with a wry grin. 

Kenny’s face was in the frame in seconds. _“You’re lucky I haven’t convinced him to let me into your room yet.”_

“Stay out of my room.” 

Stan rolled his eyes. _“Alright, alright. How’s it going then, Kyle?”_

“It’s fine, I just miss you guys. Craig’s…” he grimaced. “I’m trying my best.” 

_“_ _Uhuh_ _, sure you are.”_

“I just…it’s hard to ignore our differences when we’re the only two people in the house,” Kyle explained. “But that doesn’t matter. Why don’t you tell me how things have…” 

He stopped speaking as the door opened. He glanced up to see Craig enter the room in his gym clothes, barely glancing in Kyle’s direction, headphones round his neck. The man passed by him to the wardrobes, gathering a change of clothes before he left the room. 

The silence that followed was deafening. Stan had half his face covered by his hand, a smile on his lips as he watched Kenny, who looked positively _horrified._ Kyle just knew what that look meant. He wasn’t sure if he needed to just hang up now to avoid what was to come. 

_“_ _That’s_ _Craig?!”_ Kenny hissed through the screen. _“You’re fucking_ _shacked up with_ _Mister Dreamboat_ _and you expect me to pity you?!”_

“Just because he looks nice doesn’t mean he is!” Kyle argued. 

_“You’re just jealous that he’s more popular with the local wildlife than you are._ _How you can even think to concentrate on the local wildlife when you have that wandering round your house is beyond me.”_

“Stan,” Kyle tried not to sound like he was begging. “Can’t you control your boyfriend?” 

Stan just shrugged unhelpfully. _“I mean, he kind of has a point?”_

_“See! Stan has eyes, Kyle. He’s on my side.”_

_“Hey there aren’t sides here.”_

_“_ _I have sides, and I’d love to have one dark haired beauty on each side so that I can get absolutely railed into next week.”_

Kyle huffed out at Kenny’s declaration. “Well you’re not here so you can shove something else up your ass.” 

_“Is that jealousy I hear? Not being possessive, are you?”_

“There’s nothing to be possessive about!” Kyle snapped. “I get it, he’s attractive, and good at his work, and _oh so_ perfect, but he’s still a _fucking_ -!” 

_“Tone it back, Kyle.”_

He let out a frustrated groan at Stan’s words. He was right, though. Craig presumably wasn’t far away, even if he likely had his headphones in. 

“Can we talk about something else, please?” Kyle asked through gritted teeth. 

_“Normally you’re happy to talk about-?”_

Stan covered Kenny’s mouth with his hand to cut off the sentence before he addressed Kyle. _“Sure, dude. Literally anything else.”_

\--

It was late. He had finally finished typing up his notes after his impromptu call with Stan and Kenny, and Craig was nowhere to be found, at first. Not that he was actively _looking_ , but it seemed a bit strange that he wasn’t immediately obvious. Craig was very much a creature of habit. 

He supposed it should’ve been obvious then where the man was. 

Kyle inched his way into the recreation room, glancing around at the gym equipment before settling on the large windows that were set into the edge of the pod, giving a clear view of the outside world. Craig turned once he had entered from hearing the door open. 

“That’s where you are,” Kyle observed with a nervous laugh. “I was beginning to wonder...” 

He didn’t expect Craig to quite so obviously call him out. 

“You gonna sit with me, or are you gonna go hole up in our room again?” 

Kyle tensed at the words. It sounded like a challenge of sorts, and it took everything in him to stop his legs from carrying him away from the scene. Instead, he relented, joining Craig and sitting on the bench that faced the window. 

“Here,” Craig reached down, picking up a bottle from the floor and offering it over to Kyle. 

“Thanks, dude.” 

He opened the bottle with the opener that sat between them. Silence descended over the room and they sat together, staring out across the expanse. 

Kyle found himself at a loss for words. It didn’t feel like the right moment to talk about work, didn’t feel like the right moment to try and make casual small talk. Sitting in silence wasn’t making him feel any better. 

“What brought you here?” 

Kyle looked up with wide eyes at the question. “What do you mean?” 

“All I was told was that some university had picked a student who was in the last year of their post-grad.” 

“Well, yeah,” Kyle shrugged. “That’s me. My professor suggested it might be a good way to get field experience, and start networking and-?” he cut himself off with a flush of shame. “Yeah.” 

“Networking?” Craig repeated. 

Kyle had the decency to look ashamed. “Yeah. It…he said if I could get to know some people who already in the fields I want to go into, and work for the companies I’d be looking at, it’d help me when I finish my post-grad. Though, I guess I haven’t done a good job of that so far.” 

“Why not?” 

Kyle gave a sheepish laugh. “You kidding? I’ve not exactly made a great first impression with you, have I?” 

Craig was silent for a few moments, but when he spoke, it surprised Kyle. “I’d recommend you, if you applied for a position at my work.” 

Kyle stared, bug-eyed. 

“Regardless of your personality, you’re really smart. You work hard. You deserve to be here, and you deserve a good position when you finish studying. And when you don’t have a stick up your ass, you’re not difficult to get on with.” 

“My brother’s the smart one – and I don’t mean that as a, I’m stupid kind of thing, he’s just _incredibly_ smart.” 

He didn’t know what possessed him to start talking about something so personal. It was the first thing to spring to mind. 

Maybe it was guilt. 

“Can tell you’re related, then?” 

Kyle shook his head. “He’s adopted.” 

“Huh.” 

He gave a small chuckle as he thought of the sarcastic, moody boy. “When I was a kid mom used to tell me I had to look after him because he was my little brother, and I’d tell her that he wasn’t my real brother so it didn’t count. It didn’t go over well.” 

Craig laughed at that. “I used to do that with my sister. Mom would tell me to be nice to her, and I’d say I only had to be half nice because she was only my half-sister. Dad found it too funny to back her up.” 

“She’s your half-sister?” 

“My mum was single when she had me, wasn’t with my dad or anything. They met soon after I’d been born. They didn’t get married till she was pregnant with my sister, and they decided they probably should. I don’t think either of us were _planned._ ” 

“Have you ever met your real dad?” 

“Nah, never really tried to find him. Mom doesn’t remember his name. I was, uh, a holiday baby?” there was a smirk on Craig’s face. “I give her such hassle about it, all the time.” 

“So, your step dad has kind of always been there?” 

“Yeah, for as long as I remember.” 

Kyle looked back out across the expanse ahead of them, heart beating hard against his ribcage as he tried to think of how to express the emotions swirling around in his head. “Thanks.” 

He felt Craig’s eyes on him. 

“For saying you’d recommend me.” 

“Sure, dude," Craig shrugged. "The weather and the light does funny things to you. I'm not gonna hold it against you."

He was right about that. Kyle hadn't expected for his already hot temper to be quite so delicate. 

\--

Whether he wanted to or not, he was growing attached to Craig. He was introduced to a second bedroom of their home, which was used as a dumping ground for various boxes and items that had been here for some time, full of oddities and small, handmade toys. 

“There was one of the researchers from last year, who liked to make dumb things to put out, to see how the wildlife would interact with it,” Craig explained with an eyeroll. “Which to me, defeats the point of _observing_ , but he argued that we were already upsetting the balance a little by being here, so...” 

Kyle dove in head first. Where Craig spent much of his time reading or in the gym, Kyle began to spend more of his time in what Craig had begun to call his ‘workshop’. Having something to focus in on made him feel productive. A little less like he was deadweight, and more like he was doing something useful with his time. 

His first project ended up being a swing, made to be the size of the Adelie penguin that often passed by their pod on the way to the coast. They set it up outside the large window for the rec-room, sitting together on the evenings watching the birds play while they drank, and Kyle found himself struggling to deny that he wasn’t genuinely enjoying Craig’s company as the man sat next to him laughing. 

His calls with Stan continued. He still complained about Craig, but the complaints became less specific. General things, that came with sharing a room with a stranger, or _he’s not you_ when he was feeling particularly homesick. 

He was on one such call once, laptop set up on the desk in its usual place while Kyle laughed at a story Stan had told him about their neighbor's crumbling relationship, which he only felt a _little_ guilty laughing about, when there was a knock on the door. 

He looked over, seeing Craig enter the room, poking his head round the corner glancing between Kyle and the laptop. 

“What is it?” Kyle asked. 

Before Craig could speak, Kenny’s voice echoed through the room, and Kyle felt his blood run cold. 

_“Is it him?”_ Kenny asked. _“_ _Dude_ _tell him to come over and talk to us so I can stare at his smoking hot_ _ass_ _-!”_

He hung up the call to stop Kenny from finishing his sentence, green eyes wide as they stared across at the man on the other side of the door frame, who was looking back at him with just as much embarrassment. Craig stood there silently as he stared Kyle down looking a little bewildered. 

“Can I help you with something?” 

The wrong question to ask, apparently, as Craig’s face lit up like a Christmas tree and he stuttered through his next sentence of: “Drink? I’m getting a drink and thought I’d – do you? Want one?” 

“Nope. I’m good.” 

“Right,” Craig patted the door frame with his hand before he took two steps back. “Cool.” 

The door shut. Kyle started typing furiously at his laptop. 

Stan’s replies were hardly legible, and he accused them both of being horrific, nasty little shits. The string of hearts he received did nothing to calm his temper down. 

It took him a solid twenty minutes before he was willing to leave the room and face the world. 

Craig was in the living room when he arrived, book in his hands, lounging on the couch facing the bedroom door. When Kyle left the room Craig’s eyes snapped up, though he instantly looked embarrassed. 

“I’m...sorry,” Kyle gestured behind himself where their room was. “My friend is – he's a lot.” 

“It’s fine.” 

“I think maybe he just has a type, and you kind of fit it, so-?” 

“Kyle.” 

He finally met Craig’s gaze again, seeing the pink cheeks still there, but with an amused smile on his face. 

“It’s fine, honestly.” 

“Right. I’m just gonna – what are you reading?” 

Craig shrugged. “Just...one of those dumb Harlequinn romances.” 

“What, seriously?” Kyle remembered the book selection from the first day, the wide selection that was there. “That’s yours?” 

“It’s not mine,” Craig insisted. “I’ve just read everything there so many times, and this the least.” 

“But you’ve read it before.” 

Craig narrowed his eyes despite the smile on his face. “Are you trying to embarrass me? We can start talking about your friend again, if you want, the one who thinks I’m-?” 

“Please, let’s not start talking about Kenny again.” 

Craig scoffed with an eyeroll. “Yes, I’ve read it before. It’s like, a thing we do. Whenever one of us comes here, we bring a new book to leave for whoever gets it next year. I just...have got it a couple years in a row, so my options are kind of getting limited.” 

“I have some with me.” 

“You don’t mind sharing them?” 

Kyle shook his head. “Go ahead. I have more on my kindle, if you want that.” 

“I have a lot of audio books, for when I use the gym, sometimes, when I don’t listen to music.” 

“That what you got your headphones in for all the time?” 

“Pretty much.” 

Kyle leant back on his heels, shoving his hands in his pockets as his conversational skills ran dry. “You can help yourself, whenever. I brought more shows than books, honestly.” 

“Suits me fine.” 

“I’m gonna...” he gestured in the direction of the kitchen. “Want me to make dinner?” 

“Sure.” 

He was thankful for the excuse to exit the conversation. 

\--

His favorite parts of the day were the ones between their research spots. These little breaks they had outside, where he got to just...enjoy the atmosphere. 

He was distracted from preparing his equipment, staring out across the vast expanse of sky ahead of him, allowing himself a moment to just admire the scenery. No matter how many times he did, he still found himself in awe at his surroundings. 

It was something otherworldly. 

A shutter snapped him out of his revere. He looked over to Craig to see what had captured the man’s interest enough to take photos while they were meant to be resting, only to find the lens of the camera pointed in his direction. 

Kyle felt the heat rush to his cheeks, Craig staring back at him, poker face in place. 

“What-?” Kyle startled as he watched Craig take another photo, heat rushing to his cheeks. “What are you doing?” 

“Documenting.” 

“You’re meant to document the wildlife!” 

The smirk Craig gave him did funny things to his insides. “I am.” 

“Hey! I’m not wildlife!” 

“I dunno about that…” 

Kyle grabbed a handful of snow and threw it in Craig’s direction, who laughed and leant backwards as it scattered uselessly in the wind. 

“I can’t help it. You’re…” 

He held his breath as he waited for Craig to finish his sentence. 

“You’re pretty photogenic.” 

“I am not. I take horrible photos.” 

Craig gestured for him to come closer. 

Kyle did so, against his better judgement, trodding over to where Craig stood with his camera. The man angled it to show him the screen. There he was, staring off into the distance, red curls poking out from the corners of his hat, vibrant against the white background he was admiring. 

He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a photo of himself that looked so… 

“I look good.” 

“Yeah, you do.” 

He flushed at the compliment. “I-its probably thanks to your photography skills. More than…” 

“Helps when the subject is attractive.” 

“Attractive?” 

Craig cleared his throat as he pulled the camera back to his chest, not meeting Kyle’s eyes. “Well, yeah. There’s only so far my photography skills get me. I’m not like, a professional or anything, I just took a few classes to help with documenting.” 

Why did it not surprise him that this was just another thing that Craig was so _effortlessly_ good at? 

“C’mon, let’s get back to work.” 

It took Kyle a few moments to properly get back into the swing of it. He was too busy being stunned at Craig’s words, mind focusing in on the shot he’d taken of Kyle. Focused on the way Craig looked when he avoided Kyle’s gaze and was staring down at the camera. 

Part of him knew he should be annoyed that this was another thing to add to Craig’s list of talents, but...he was too busy being stuck on the fact that he was pretty sure Craig was flirting with him. 

\--

It was too civil. Too calm. They were doing too well at getting along. Too good to be true. 

Kyle wished he had a better handle on his emotions. He wished he wasn’t so easy to rise to his temper, so easy to let his insecurities show as anger. 

They were walking back to the pod, like everything was fine, when they passed a wandering group of penguins. They paused, watching the group waddle pass them, and... 

One turned. 

Kyle held his breath as he watched with wide eyes as the small penguin broke off from the group. He approached them familiarly, looking up directly at Kyle, and the redhead felt a sudden rush of excitement. 

It didn’t last long. 

As soon as he was close enough for Kyle to crouch down to reach out for, the waddling changed course. He watched as little penguin waddled straight to Craig, making small circles round his feet. 

Kyle looked up. He met stormy eyes, the man opening his mouth to speak, but nothing coming out. Craig shook his head, slow, like he was trying to express an apology. 

Kyle didn’t stick around for it. He turned on his heel and started for the pod, dodging round the larger group of penguins and desperately trying to will himself not to get angry. 

It didn’t work. 

He got in, dropping his rucksack by the door before tearing off his coat, leaving it in the middle of the floor in a way that he just _knew_ Craig would probably hate. He ran a hand through his hair, hat falling to the floor as he repeated Stan’s words in his head. 

_They wouldn’t have picked you if you weren’t the best._

Yet, he still paled in comparison to others that didn’t waste their time on post-grads and academic achievements. 

“Kyle-?” 

“Don’t,” he spoke firm, spinning with a glare as Craig entered the pod and began to strip himself of the outer layer. “Just let me – just let me calm down, alright?” 

“I didn’t mean to-?” 

Kyle scoffed as he threw his hands in the air. “Dude, literally, what did I just say?!” 

“I know, but I don’t want – you're finally not mad at me and I don’t want you to start again.” 

“Mad at – are you kidding me?!” Kyle snapped. “I’m not mad at you!” 

“How are you not mad at me?!” 

“I’m just mad at – at everything! Yeah, okay, maybe I’m a little mad at you, but you’re just so – you're so _flawless_ , all the time! How the hell am I meant to compete with that?!” 

“It’s not a competition.” 

“It sure as hell feels like it,” Kyle scoffed, backing away as Craig stepped closer. He could see a twitch in Craig’s brow. The way his fists clenched. 

Craig was getting angry. 

He realized he _wanted_ Craig to get angry. Because part of him knew he deserved it. 

“I’m sorry that I can’t be Mister Perfect, some of us have to work hard for where we are, and don’t handle it well when it doesn’t pay off.” 

“I do work hard! Jesus, you think I just fall into this naturally?” Craig snapped back. “I worked just as hard as you, and that’s how I got to where I am, alright? It’s called perseverance.” 

“Don’t lecture me!” 

“You want my recommendation?” Craig sneered. “I recommend you take the stick out your ass and stop taking out your own issues on me.” 

“So much for being all understanding!” 

“You’re so difficult! I never know what you want from me!” 

“I want you to let me learn how to do this!” Kyle argued, though he wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted himself. “I want you to stop hogging all the attention with your natural effortlessness – oh, sorry, with your _perseverance_.” 

“I don’t want the attention!” Craig shouted back at him. “Fuck, if I knew you were gonna be such a fucking piss baby about it I wouldn’t have tried so hard!” 

“If you don’t want the attention then why _did_ you try so hard then?!” 

“Because I want _your attention_!” 

Kyle stopped short. 

“But you’re so fucking busy being wrapped up with this fucking research assignment that-?!” 

Craig didn’t get to finish his sentence. Craig didn’t get to finish his sentence because Kyle had cut him off. Cut him off by grabbing his face and pulling it to his, crashing their lips together with all the force of a ship hitting an iceberg. 

Craig didn’t respond, at first, but after a short recovery he began to move. It was Kyle’s turn to stumble through surprise as the man kissed him back with equal ferocity, fingers curling into Kyle’s hair and giving a tug. 

The whimper that escaped his throat was shameful, but he didn’t have time to think about it, what with him being too busy trying to process the sensation of his hands roaming down Craig’s well-built front, lingering a little too long on his abs before threading his fingers into the belt loops around his waist and giving a tug, pulling their bodies flush against each other. 

When they finally parted he was dizzy and out of breath, gasping for air with his nose bumping against the other man’s. There was a silence that passed through the air as his eyes roamed across Craig’s face, though when he looked up at the grey ones looming above him, he found the man doing the exact same. 

“Sorry,” Craig finally said. 

“I started it.” 

“You did,” the grey eyes locked on his. “Are you going to finish it?” 

The next kiss was just as rough as the first one. 

He didn’t fight back as Craig began to guide him across the living room. Didn’t fight back as he felt the back of the couch, giving him some support to lean against as they continued to kiss. A clash of tongues and mingling breaths, his hands never quite settling anywhere. 

He was lost in a dizzy embrace that he was desperately trying to find some sense in. He needed to bring some sense to this, this was- 

It was pretty fucking amazing, but that didn’t mean there weren’t things he needed to address. 

Temper fully diffused, Kyle pressed a hand against Craig’s chest, nudging the slightest touch to make the man back up. Craig did so, peppering two last kisses against Kyle’s lips before he was willing to let go. 

“Wait, can we just,” Kyle licked his lips as he tried to figure out how to word what he needed to know. “What is this?” 

“What?” 

“We’re stuck here, together, for this project,” Kyle pressed. “No confusion. What do you want out of this?” 

“You,” Craig breathed. “I like you, a lot. Even if you’re a fucking dick to me half the time. You’re intelligent, and witty, and really attractive.” 

“Okay.” 

“But I’m not gonna be weird if you don’t. This project means a lot to me, too. This won’t get in the way.” 

He was attracted to him. Attracted to his looks, sure, but Craig deserved to be here. He could be arrogant, but his confidence wasn’t for nothing. He could keep up with Kyle. He could handle him, even when he was having a bit of an angry moment. 

“If it’s not going to get in the way, then I’d like to try. The work comes first, but…” Kyle leant up, smirk decorating his face as Craig angled his face, expecting another kiss. “While I’ve got you for a few months, I’d like to try this. With you.” 

He pressed a kiss down, softer than before. 

“I like you, too.” 

The smile that spread across Craig’s face had Kyle’s heart doing acrobatics. 

\--

It was better. Every day became a little bit easier. When he wasn’t constantly trying to compare himself to someone else, finding his own feet came just that little bit easier. 

He became more open at telling Craig when he was _l_ _ecturing_ instead of helping. 

He found himself back in his familiar place in front of the laptop, Stan and Kenny on the other side. He had spoken about his work and that he’d finally made it through the rest of a show that the pair had recommended to him _months_ ago. 

He left out the fact he watched it with Craig. 

He felt looser than before. Felt a little less homesick and a little more at home. 

“I’m glad you’re finding your feet,” Stan said, face softening as he spoke. 

“You were right,” Kyle admitted with a roll of his eyes. “I shouldn’t let things stop me from enjoying my time.” 

He fell silent as the door opened, a little less timid than the last time. He looked up with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes as Craig nodded at him, leaning against the doorframe completely _unable to read the room._

It wasn’t the fact that he was actively avoiding the topic of Craig with his friends, but... 

He was kind of actively avoiding the topic with his friends. 

“Hey, babe,” he started, cutting off whatever Stan was about to say through his computer screen. “You want anything from the kitchen?” 

Kyle forced a smile on his face, despite the fact he could see his best friends watching him through the screen as he replied. “No, thanks. I’m good.” 

Craig disappeared none the wiser. 

Stan was the first to speak. 

_“Did he just call you babe?!”_

_“I knew it,”_ Kenny started with a smug smirk. _“I told you, Kyle’s just got a really aggressive way of flirting.”_

_“I can’t believe this!”_

“It’s not that weird,” Kyle scolded. “I don’t know why you’re so upset.” 

_“You cost me ten bucks!”_

“What?” 

Kenny grinned. _“Pay up,_ _jackass._ _”_

“You two bet on this?” he demanded. “Dude, what the fuck?” 

_“I_ _dunno_ _if you’ve noticed, Kyle, but you’ve done nothing but talk about him since you arrived there. You can’t blame us for trying to find some joy in it.”_

Kenny laughed at Stan’s words. _“_ _It was_ _gonna_ _happen_ _sometime_ _.”_

“I hate you. I hate you guys so, so much.” 

_“You know, you could invite your new man to come say hello._ _Even better, you could bring him home with you so I can borrow him.”_

“Kenny, I swear, I will hang up again.” 

_“Yeah, babe, you’re the one who called him possessive.”_

He just knew he wasn’t going to live it down. 

When he finished his call and headed for the kitchen, seeing Craig attempt to cook again, insisting to Kyle that he just needed the redhead to watch, not interfere, and he swore he could do it this time, he decided he was happy to have the teasing from his friends if it meant he got to keep Craig. 

**Author's Note:**

> I feel too shitty recently to actually be happy with this, like my time is currently spent moping about, so I'm just posting it so I can stop being unhappy and wallowing and move on to my next project hahaha!
> 
> I hope it was still enjoyable!


End file.
